Database Users

I think I bricked my phone :(

I've been flashing the nightly build on my phone. The last time my phone was working was build 9. I than flashed build 12 and my phone got stuck on MT4G screen. I went ahead and did another full wipe but same result. Now I tried to flash build 9 and I still get same result. In a panic, I formated everything in advanced option and did another flash. Still nothing. I than followed this post in doing a wipe:
remove SD, power down device, SD in card reader, and delete all android created data (android_system; android; dcim->.thumbnails; tmp; data)
put sd back in phone.
boot into recovery
format boot
format system
{back to main menu} - factory reset
then mounts/storage, mount /system, mount /data
install .zip from SD card -> choose (CM-NIGHTLY-X)
then mounts/storage, remount /system (and /data if its not mounted)
install .zip from SD card -> choose (GAPPS)
reboot
win
So now my phone just gets stuck at the MT4G load screen. I can get into clockwork fine and flash but it just no longer will boot. Please help.

if you can boot into clockwork i dont think your bricked....try pushing the 2.x version to your phone and flash a 2.2 rom just to get to a working state.
then try again ?

I literally was going to have a heart attack. I was able to boot into the Nightly build. I guess theres something wrong with my sd card. I figured I try my 16gb card out of HD2 and it worked like a charm. Thanks for responding, I appreciate it.

Theres definitely something wrong with my 32gb Sandisk card. I formatted it with SDformatter to see if I can get it flash my phone and boot properly. Well, back to being stuck at MT4G load screen. The card works fine except for this problem. Now I just formatted 20gbs of music for nothing. FML!

haha no problem, try using HP USb storage format tool

[Q] Phone won't start

Today I rooted my U8800, I installed Clockworkmod, made a backup, and tried installing a Honeycomb ROM, I put the zip file in my SD card, and booted in recovery mode.
I did the following things: wipe data/factory reset; wipe cache partition, wipe dalvik cache, and tried installing the rom from my SD card, however clockworkmod didn't see the .zip file in my SD card, so I rebooted my phone and it didn't start. Then I chose recovery (from my backup) in Clockworkmod, still didn't work.
I can see the booting screen (it says IDEOS), it stays there for a while and then it just goes black and boots itself again.
Is there any way to fix this issue?

What do you mean by a honeycomb rom? You need CM7, MIUI or Oxygen for your phone which are all gingerbread based and available in the development section of this forum. Honeycomb is for tablets only.
What phone do you have? a regular u8800 or a u8800pro?
Which recovery do you have?
What does the recovery do when you select restore from backup?
Lastly, does the recovery see anything else on the sd card?

PaulMilbank said:
What do you mean by a honeycomb rom? You need CM7, MIUI or Oxygen for your phone which are all gingerbread based and available in the development section of this forum. Honeycomb is for tablets only.
What phone do you have? a regular u8800 or a u8800pro?
Which recovery do you have?
What does the recovery do when you select restore from backup?
Lastly, does the recovery see anything else on the sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I thought I could get Honeycomb, I completely screwed up...
I have a regular u8800, Clockworkmod Recovery 4
When I select restore from backup, it just does exactly what it's supposed to do, at the end it says that the recovery was succesful, but I'm still stuck in bootloop.
Yes, the recovery can see different things on my SD card.
If I downloaded CM7, put it on my SD card, and then installed it via CWM, would it work?
Oh and is there a way to access my SD card without my phone actually being turned on?

If it is an external card, use a sd card reader to put files onto it. If not, get an external card and card reader!
You can try wipe userdata, cache and dalvic cache then restore backup, otherwise I would definitely get hold of CM7 from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068766
Oxygen from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1149150
MIUI:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1354680
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1362963
Install one of them and hopefully you should be back up and working.

I did try wiping userdata, cache, and dalvik cache, however it still doesn't boot...
I'm going to get an SD card reader later today, but I'm not very optimistic since it doesn't boot even with the backup I had from CWM, so I don't think it'll bot with CM7 or something..

So I figured out what my problem was, I didn't put the .zip file in my phone memory, I put it in an external micro-SD card, because I thought that's what I was supposed to do.. so now I'm pretty much screwed.
Is there any way to make CWM search for the .zip on my external SD, or is there any way to access my phone memory without actually booting it?

Vertikal307 said:
Is there any way to make CWM search for the .zip on my external SD, or is there any way to access my phone memory without actually booting it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you have ClockworkMod Recovery, I'll assume your bootloader isn't useless: Download {L,X}Ubuntu and burn it on a CD or make a bootable USB. Boot it and put your phone into the pink screen mode: you'll be able to mount the internal SD card. For me, I find Genokolar's CWM to be weird with the external card: the only time I can get it to see the card is if I boot into Android, unmount the card and then do an "adb reboot bootloader" from my computer

qwerty12 said:
Since you have ClockworkMod Recovery, I'll assume your bootloader isn't useless: Download (L/X)Ubuntu and burn it on a CD or make a bootable USB. Boot it and put your phone into the pink screen mode: you'll be able to mount the internal SD card. For me, I find Genokolar's CWM to be weird with the external card: the only time I can get it to see the card is if I boot into Android, unmount the card and then do a "adb reboot bootloader" from my computer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to try this, currently downloading Ubuntu, although I've never used it before, so I'm really scared of just messing everything up.

Thank you SO much guys, especially qwerty12.
I installed Ubuntu and put the CM7 .zip file on my internal memory, and succesfully installed CM7, now my phone booted normally, and I have CM7 installed!

Great stuff,glad you got it sorted

*solved* /data/data/com.google.videos/cache/-1755362040.cacheError while fo

ok im freaking out a little, hopping that you fine ppl here at xda can help me agian.
i had a working rom on my tab, md's alaxandra III witch was my first rom it was great but i decided to check out another with a lil more customization. i did a backup and flashed the new rom.
it was a little twichey didnt run smooth so i decided to revert back to md's rom.
the first backup had an eror, i cant remember exactly what it said something about android media, so i tried an older one.... same thing. it was able to boot after the restore, i could see my custom live wallpaper so the restore somewhat worked but there was a force close window up that would not go away.
so i decided to just whipe and flash original zip for md's ROM. that did not work now im stuck in a bootloop.
HELP ME PLEASE!!!
how can i fix this my wife will kill me if i brick this lol

this isnt looking good... usually i get a fast response

when trying to restore i get
error removing /data/data/com.google.videos/cache/-1755362040.cacheError while formatting/ data

then when it boots i get the application launcher (process com.android.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly. please try again.
this will not leave the screen

Can you get into recovery? Try wiping everything and flashing a fresh ROM like Epiphany

yes i tried puting alaxandra III fresh and got stuck in boot loop

Dont panic YOU ARE NOT BRICKED..
oK FIRST OF STOP THE PANIC ATTACK.. this will likely cause you to miss a step..
1st .. Can you boot into recovery.
if so ..
i suggest .. start from the beginning.. TALK ALL VERIABLES OUT..
Format your SD CARD with a android phone or a sd format utility.. i use the one from pnys website..
re download the rom you wish to flash . To the SD CARD WHILE its in your computer i believe is best..
put the sd card in your computer..
boot into cwm or ra
wipe as usual
format partitions NOT THE sd card
Flash the newly downloaded rom..
reboot recovery .. go back to wipe menu
re wipe. as usual..
Reboot the tablet and set your google account back up. the above will KILL ALL OF YOUR DATA...
THIS IS HOW I Get out of trouble when i toast something.. I ALSO not only backup everytime i take a backup. i try to restore it to be sure its working correctly.. and i push it to my personal ftp site .
good luck...

ok i will try this thx ill get back....
also why did my backup not work? there would not be an issue if they had worked?

erica_renee said:
oK FIRST OF STOP THE PANIC ATTACK.. this will likely cause you to miss a step..
1st .. Can you boot into recovery.
if so ..
i suggest .. start from the beginning.. TALK ALL VERIABLES OUT..
Format your SD CARD with a android phone or a sd format utility.. i use the one from pnys website..
re download the rom you wish to flash . To the SD CARD WHILE its in your computer i believe is best..
put the sd card in your computer..
boot into cwm or ra
wipe as usual
format partitions NOT THE sd card
Flash the newly downloaded rom..
reboot recovery .. go back to wipe menu
re wipe. as usual..
Reboot the tablet and set your google account back up. the above will KILL ALL OF YOUR DATA...
THIS IS HOW I Get out of trouble when i toast something.. I ALSO not only backup everytime i take a backup. i try to restore it to be sure its working correctly.. and i push it to my personal ftp site .
good luck...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after flashing i re wipe??

dr mcknight said:
after flashing i re wipe??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is something i always do..it insures that the rom is clean and Fresh. sometimes if you do not take this step you will have ghost directories in /sdcard. directories that did not get deleted. why this happens i have NO IDEA..
Im just a average user that follows what i read.

ok it happens so fast i cant read what come after but when i wipedata/factory i get the same
error removing /data/data/com.google.videos/cache/-1755362040.cacheError while formatting/ data
then it says something else 2 lines i think then it says done, not sure what that means ill try and keep going and see what happens

and wipe cache says e:unknwn volume for path [/sd-ext]

nope it did not work.
back to the forceclose pop up
i didnt get the set up stuff.straight to the rom. im getting notifications in bottem left like new email and wifi availible. shouldnt i get the set up ie. google account time zones and such?????
what ever that error is, its stuck in the system somehow

and one more thing i noticed.... there was a volume error i mentioned in a past post. well when im sitting here stuck with force close pop up, the volume is the only thing i can get access to. i can mute, vol up and down.
everything else is behind the pop up

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=20680452&postcount=137
im kinda lost with the sd/ext error.. you might try the above.. i think this is how you rooted to begin with... via your computer thru adb.. or you could ask in the recovery thread . the ra recovery thread talks about a similar issue not sure its the same..
wish i could do more but i would get some clarification before you proceed .
so sorry i cant do more..

oh no............. i feel that panic

dr mcknight said:
after flashing i re wipe??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, trying to put Alex III back in?
Ok, you need to tell me which Recovery are you Using? Thor's CWM? Or RA Revamped?
If you're using CWM, you should go to wipes, and do all the wipes (data, Cache, Dalvik,System if it has it also, not sure if his new version has it or not) Then goto Mounts and format;
1. Format System
2. Format Cache
3. Format Dalvik
4. Format Flexrom
Install Rom.
If you get stuck in animation loop, reboot back to recovery and do wipes only, then reinstall the rom.
If using RA Revamped 3.15,
Wipe;
Data/factory reset (you shouldn't lose any data)
Dalvik
System
If boot animation, go back to RA Recovery
Data/factory reset
Dalvik
I have RA Recovery down to a fine art with this rom.
Should get you hooked up.

thanks moscow
im past boot loop.
when i wipedata/factory i get the same
error removing /data/data/com.google.videos/cache/-1755362040.cacheError while formatting/ data
then it says something else 2 lines i think then it says done
and wipe cache says e:unknwn volume for path [/sd-ext]
i flash your rom ( witch by the way i will never stray from again) but i dont get the fresh start up screens to set up time google account ect.....EDIT**i get a home screen with a fc pop up and cant do anything
im no pro but whatever its not removing is what looks like is causing the crap

dr mcknight said:
im past boot loop.
when i wipedata/factory i get the same
error removing /data/data/com.google.videos/cache/-1755362040.cacheError while formatting/ data
then it says something else 2 lines i think then it says done
and wipe cache says e:unknwn volume for path [/sd-ext]
i flash your rom ( witch by the way i will never stray from again) but i dont get the fresh start up screens to set up time google account ect.....EDIT**i get a home screen with a fc pop up and cant do anything
im no pro but whatever its not removing is what looks like is causing the crap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"wipe cache says e:unknwn volume for path [/sd-ext]" is normal, don;t worry about it. But the other error, is corrupted data I believe.
Are you using Thor's CWM Recovery? What version?
or Do you use RA Revamped? What version
It sounds like you have some very corrupted data in there.
If you are using Thor's CWM. And his recovery only;
Here are the steps to completely wipe all internal data. And give it a clean internal system (according to Thor)
Note: Optional Formatting.
If you really want to remove EVERYTHING in Internal Memory, at this point, go to Backup and Restore. Select "Toggle backup and restore of internal storage (/data/media). Enable this setting by selecting it. By default, it is disabled. Then proceed to the formatting steps. This will format the Entire Internal Memory when you proceed.
Note, this will format EVERYTHING in internal memory (not ext sd card)
Select Go Back, Goto Mounts and Storage
1. Format System
2. Format Cache
3. Format Dalvik
4. Format Flexrom
After you reboot, I believe it resets back to the defaults.
---------- Post added at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 PM ----------
Oh, and once you are done, try to install the rom with the normal procedures. It's quite possible the rom on the sd was corrupted, so you may want to re-download it again if you have the same error.
IF you are running RA Revamped Recovery, then you may want to contact Drellisdee at his thread;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459821
He knows the procedures to do the same. I would tell you, but it's a tricky process, and he knows more about his recovery than I do.
One more note, if you have an extra SD card, even a 2gb, I would format that to FAT 32, and also copy a rom to it and use it. (remove all doubt)

Moscow Desire said:
"wipe cache says e:unknwn volume for path [/sd-ext]" is normal, don;t worry about it. But the other error, is corrupted data I believe.
Are you using Thor's CWM Recovery? What version?
or Do you use RA Revamped? What version
It sounds like you have some very corrupted data in there.
If you are using Thor's CWM. And his recovery only;
Here are the steps to completely wipe all internal data. And give it a clean internal system (according to Thor)
Note: Optional Formatting.
If you really want to remove EVERYTHING in Internal Memory, at this point, go to Backup and Restore. Select "Toggle backup and restore of internal storage (/data/media). Enable this setting by selecting it. By default, it is disabled. Then proceed to the formatting steps. This will format the Entire Internal Memory when you proceed.
Note, this will format EVERYTHING in internal memory (not ext sd card)
Select Go Back, Goto Mounts and Storage
1. Format System
2. Format Cache
3. Format Dalvik
4. Format Flexrom
After you reboot, I believe it resets back to the defaults.
---------- Post added at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 PM ----------
Oh, and once you are done, try to install the rom with the normal procedures. It's quite possible the rom on the sd was corrupted, so you may want to re-download it again if you have the same error.
IF you are running RA Revamped Recovery, then you may want to contact Drellisdee at his thread;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1459821
He knows the procedures to do the same. I would tell you, but it's a tricky process, and he knows more about his recovery than I do.
One more note, if you have an extra SD card, even a 2gb, I would format that to FAT 32, and also copy a rom to it and use it. (remove all doubt)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IM USING THOR'S cwm RECOVERY V5.0.0.0
I WILL TRY YOUR STEPS ABOVE WITH A NEW CARD.
its not the ROM download because i have already re downloaded it
again thank you to Moscow and erica_renee for ALL YOUR HELP AND ADVICE you two are the most helpful and fastest to respond on this forum!!!!
i will get back after this try

TWRP Problem

Hi,
After I install any rom and boot back into recovery, I keep getting asked for a TWRP password. I've never entered a password before, and when I hit cancel, it locks my internal sd card. I can't boot back into the rom, nor restore a nandroid from my ext sd card because it "can't mount /data." How can I get around this?

TBayTom said:
Hi,
After I install any rom and boot back into recovery, I keep getting asked for a TWRP password. I've never entered a password before, and when I hit cancel, it locks my internal sd card. I can't boot back into the rom, nor restore a nandroid from my ext sd card because it "can't mount /data." How can I get around this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you formatting data as opposed to wiping data? I think that might be the culprit.

norml said:
Are you formatting data as opposed to wiping data? I think that might be the culprit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I initially formatted my internal sd card so I could free up some space... Now I see the only work around is to format data and reboot recovery for it to load up my nandroid. Everytime I restart the phone it boot loops and I have to go to recovery where it asks me for a password again. It's an ongoing cycle lol...

Try installing another recovery like cwm or ouhds (tar or tar.md5) via odin and if that doesn't work, ur gonna have to start from scratch man.

norml said:
Try installing another recovery like cwm or ouhds (tar or tar.md5) via odin and if that doesn't work, ur gonna have to start from scratch man.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another recovery did not help at all.. I might have to ODIN factory reset unless there is another method?

"E: Failed to sysmapfile" during Custom ROM installation?

Hello XDA! First off I'd like to say that I'm so glad there's a dedicated community of Android users who are willing to share their experiences and help others.
Nothing like a good tech community that have their comrades backs!
So I've been trying to iron out all the issues with running a custom ROM on my Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGH-i337m) for a few days now.
I've soft bricked this little dude 5-10 times and have always been able to figure out what I may have done wrong or how to fix it with the help of other people's help threads.
Slowly but surely I'm grasping more and more about how android works, I'm glad for that!
The only real issue is that I managed to get stuck with an error that doesn't really have an answer that I've been able to find so far.
THE ERROR DETAILS:
Recovery: TWRP v2.8.4.0
ROM: cm-12-20150312-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip
ROM THREAD: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-orig-develop/rom-cyanogenmod-12-t2943934
gApps: pa_gapps-modular-pico-5.0.1-20150307-signed.zip
gApps Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/par...apps-official-to-date-pa-google-apps-t2943900
Method of installation:
Flash TWRP with odin3 via download mode
Launch TWRP
Standard TWRP wipe
Install cm-12-20150312-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip
Receive message:"E: Failed to sysMapFile '/external_sd/cm-12-20150308-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip' "
Full on-screen error log:
Code:
Installing ''/external_sd/cm-12-20150308-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip'...
Checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found
E: Failed to sysMapFile '/external_sd/cm-12-20150308-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip'
Error flashing zip '/external_sd/cm-12-20150308-OPTIMIZED-jflte.zip'
Updating partition details...
... done
My additional questions and details:
1. I used the Advanced Wipe feature in TWRP with these checked: Dalvik Cache, System, Data, Internal Storage, Cache
---- is this part of the reason why I'm having issues? (is it because I wiped System?)
2. I have reverted back to the stock ROM for this phone (Koodo Canadian SGH-i337m), I have no issues except I don't like the stock rom (ew touchwiz) but still can't install a custom ROM, WHY?!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and giving me whatever answer you have for me!

1. When you do your wipes only wipe data and the caches. If your rom was on the internal sd card when you wiped internal sd card you wiped your rom too.
2. Do you have any other issues reading from your external sd card? It looks like to me that that is the problem. You might have to reformat it and start over.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app

jd1639 said:
1. When you do your wipes only wipe data and the caches. If your rom was on the internal sd card when you wiped internal sd card you wiped your rom too.
2. Do you have any other issues reading from your external sd card? It looks like to me that that is the problem. You might have to reformat it and start over.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only wiped Dalvik Cache, Cache, Data, System, and Internal Storage.
I'll revert back to stock rom, reformat my SD card, re-load my stuff on to the SD, then I'll post what happens when I try to flash the CM12 Rom with TWRP.

FIXED / SOLVED
Thank you for your help jd1639
Anyone who reads this in the future looking to fix their problem this was the solution I used:
Use Odin to flash back to your STOCK ROM (close after PASS message)
Settings -> Storage -> Format SD Card
Plug into computer, Add your files back to the SD Card (ROM, gApps, etc...)
Power OFF phone
Boot into Download Mode (Hold: Down Volume, Home, Power buttons simultaneously until you see the warning message - Press volume up and accept the dangers)
Open fresh Odin, Load TWRP or other recovery with the PDA option - Press Start)
Phone should reboot, wait for it to reboot and Odin to say PASS
Unplug phone from computer
Power OFF
Boot into Recovery mode (Hold: Up Volume, Home, Power buttons simultaneously until you see the booting recovery message)
TWRP starts
Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> CHECK BOXES: System, Data, Dalvik Cache, Cache NOTHING ELSE!
Go back to the main page when you regain control
Install -> *locate your SD card with ROMs* -> Select desired ROM -> ADD MORE ROMS -> Select compatible gApps -> INSTALL
Wait for reboot
Follow on screen ROM settings tooltip
IF YOU FOLLOWED THESE STEPS EVERYTHING SHOULD WORK!
(if it doesn't work, it's probably your ROM or gApps that caused the issue)